Runaway Brain: An iZombie & The Flash Crossover
by chrisvale
Summary: When a murder victim in Central City is found to be missing his brain, Barry Allen, aka The Flash, and Detective Joe West travel to Seattle to investigate. There they meet medical examiner Liv Moore and Detective Clive Babineaux and uncover a mystery larger than they had ever contemplated. This is a fanfic combining characters from the CW Network shows iZombie and The Flash.
1. Chapter 1

**Runaway Brain**

 **an iZombie/Flash FanFiction**

Christopher Vale

This is a fan fiction story based on characters and plot elements of the television shows, _iZombie_ and _The Flash_. Both shows appear on the CW Network and to the best of the author's knowledge and belief all rights to _iZombie_ and _The Flash_ , including characters, locations, plot-lines, etc. are owned by the CW Network. This author does not own nor does he claim to own any rights to any characters or plot elements contained in the above mentioned shows or this fanfiction. He wrote this fanfiction story purely for fun and to entertain himself and others. He has neither requested nor received payment for this work and has made it available for free.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

Chapter 1

 **Central City**

The bar stank of spilled beer and stale cigarette smoke as Morris Jordan, better known to his friends as Mo, sat alone at a table in the back. He drained his double scotch with a grimace before slamming the now empty glass on the table. The _ZaZa Bing_ was opened decades ago by life and business partners Luciene and Cat. When it first opened it was a kind of lesbian-biker bar, but as homosexuality became mainstream their clientele shifted. Now it was the type of place people who didn't want to socialize went to drink in peace. Mo had become a frequent customer as of late. Ever since the party. Damn that party.

Mo was the Director of Marketing over all of Central City for the wildly popular energy drink company known as _Max Rager_. _Max Rager_ was famous for throwing wild promotional parties and events aimed at college students and young professionals. The parties were fantastic. Paid celebrities were normally in attendance which attracted beautiful young men and women. Mo couldn't believe what these college girls would do for an introduction to rock star Lowell Tracy.

Mo's life was good—great even. Up until the last party that is. _Jesus_. Everything was going great just like usual. Some crappy little band known as the Asshats was playing terrible music, but that didn't matter. Everyone was having a terrific time, especially once the company's party queen, Kirsten, got there. Kirsten was phenomenal at her job. Everyone adored her. She was fun, exciting, but Mo's favorite quality was her ass. Especially in the tight skirts she frequently wore. _You could bounce a quarter off that ass._

Despite all of that, the best thing of all was that Kirsten brought her friend Mateo to the party. Mateo dealt utopium, a new designer drug that the kids couldn't get enough of. Talk about a ride to heaven…or Utopia. Mo had never done the drug himself, he preferred booze, but he loved to have it at his parties. Mainly because of how frisky the ladies got when they were on it. Any and all inhibitions went flying right out of the window. Yes, life was perfect. Until the last party, when everything went to hell. No matter how much Mo drank he couldn't get the images out of his head.

Mo glanced up from his now empty glass and waved his hand at the cute, young waitress standing near the bar. He saw her glance at the bartender before slowly crossing the room to him. She forced a smile when she reached his table.

"All done?" the waitress asked sweetly as she reached down and took the empty glass.

Mo smiled up at her. He was clearly drunk, having already consumed four other double scotches. "I'll have another," he said through slurred speech.

The waitress bit her lip as she placed a hand on her hip and turned to glance over her shoulder at the bartender. The bartender shook her head as she made a slicing sign across her throat, indicating that Mo was cut off.

The waitress turned back to him. "I'm sorry sir, you've had enough."

"What?" Mo asked as the smile disappeared from his face. "I'm fine. Trust me—I can hold my liquor."

"I'm sorry, but Michelle says no, and she's the boss."

Mo leaned over in his chair to look past the waitress and at Michelle who stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She watched Mo intently, waiting to see if he made a scene. _Dammit! Why couldn't it be Angie and Angel working tonight? They didn't care how much paying customers drank._ Realizing he would get nowhere with the bartender, Mo looked away and turned his attention back to the waitress. She sure was hot. Young too. Mo liked them young. Pretty, young girls were so easily persuaded to do just about anything.

The smile returned to his face as he pulled a wad of bills from the pocket of his expensive designer pants. He flipped out a hundred dollar bill and laid it on the table.

The waitress smiled, relieved that he wasn't going to cause any trouble. "I'll be right back with your change," she said, but as she turned away Mo reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her back toward him.

"No need for that, sweetheart," he slurred. "It's Stacy, right?" he asked. The waitress nodded. "Well, you just keep the change Stacy," he smiled.

"Thank you," Stacy said, returning his smile. She began to walk away again, but again Mo pulled her back toward him, this time all the way down onto his lap.

"Sir, I…" she began to protest but Mo interrupted her.

"I have another c-bill for you if you come back to my place," he smirked as his hand moved up her leg.

"Ugh!" she said as she pushed his hand away and leapt back to her feet. "As if…!" Mo stood, trying to pull her back to him, but Stacy shoved him away, almost making him fall back down into his chair. Then Mo noticed the bartender, Michelle, rounding the corner of the bar gripping a Louisville Slugger tightly.

"Get the hell outta here!" Michelle snapped.

Mo nodded his willingness to consent and then grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and slid it on. He made his way carefully yet drunkenly across the room to the front entrance, doing his best not to stumble. He opened the door and stepped outside into the crisp air.

"Damned dyke," Mo muttered under his breath as the door swung closed behind him. He stepped out onto the deserted sidewalk. He was too drunk to notice the woman leaving the bar after him and following behind.

Mo stumbled along the sidewalk for a while, glancing around the neighborhood. Spottswood had been a nice section of the city at one time, but that was years ago. Now it was nothing but dive bars, sleazy strip clubs, and tattoo parlors.

Mo suddenly felt an intense urge to relieve himself and turned into an alley. He walked back into the darkness toward a dumpster. He did not notice the woman turn into the alley after him. Mo let out a long sigh as his bladder emptied its contents. After a solid three minutes he zipped up his pants and turned around, stepping out from behind the dumpster.

Mo jumped, suddenly spooked when he saw the woman standing on the other side of the dumpster, staring at him. He placed his hand over his heart as he started to laugh with relief. "Jesus sweetheart, you scared the crap out of me." He looked her up and down. She was cute. Extremely pale though, with white hair. Odd, but that was okay.

"You looking for some money?" he asked, assuming she was a prostitute. "How about ten bucks to get on your knees right here?" he asked with a wolfish smile. "Wait a minute. I know you," he said as he stared at her with blurred eyes. "I thought you were dead. You look dead," he laughed. Suddenly, his smile vanished and the color drained from his face when he saw her eyes begin to glow a devilish red.

"Oh God, you're one of them!" he cried. He spun quickly to run, but in his drunken state tripped over his own feet and fell face first into the cement. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He heard a terrifying shriek and turned to see the woman lunging for him. Then everything went black.

* * *

Barry Allen ran through Central City as fast as he could. Well not quite as fast as he could, that might send him propelling through time and space. Barry was the fastest man alive, a meta human like so many others, created on a night nearly a year ago when Star Lab's particle accelerator exploded. He awoke from a coma nine months later to find that his nearly fatal injuries had completely healed and he could move at incredible speeds. So fast that the human eye could not even keep up with his movements. Yet despite his ridiculous speed, Barry Allen—the fastest man alive—was last on the scene, as usual.

Barry slid to an abrupt stop at the entrance to the alley. Officer Meadows, the police officer posted to guard the entrance, turned to see him. "Where did you come from Barry?" she smiled at him.

Barry returned the officer's smile. "I know Sara…I'm late again!" Barry said as he hurried into the alley. Barry worked for the Central City Police Department's crime lab and had been called to the scene of an apparent homicide. He slowed down to walk coolly and calmly to where a team of Central City's finest was already on the scene.

Detective Joe West and his partner, Eddie Thawne, stood staring down at what was clearly a recently deceased victim. A _headless_ , recently deceased, victim. Both detectives glanced up at Barry as he strode down the alley toward them.

Joe stepped around the body of the victim and intercepted Barry, grabbing his arm. "Everything alright?" he asked.

Barry nodded. "Yeah. Sorry I took so long. You called when I was on a date." That was not entirely true, but it wasn't a lie either. Barry had intended to go on a date that night with a lovely young woman he'd met a couple of weeks ago named Janeey. Unfortunately, Janeey, like so many others before her, realized that Barry was in love with someone else. Earlier that evening, she cut Barry loose.

Janeey was right of course, Barry was in love with someone else. Desperately in love. He had been in love with Iris West since elementary school. To complicate things further, Iris was Joe's daughter and dating Joe's partner, Eddie. Not just dating though, they had moved in together. As if that weren't bad enough, Iris was Barry's foster sister and Joe was his foster dad.

When Barry was just a kid his mother was murdered and his father was convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison. Barry's explanation to investigators of lightning inside the house and a man that moved at incredible speeds was simply too fantastical for the police and jury to accept. With his mother dead and his father in prison, Barry had nowhere to go, so Joe took him in.

Barry knew his father had not killed his mother, but could never really explain who or what did. At least, not until he became a meta human with unfathomable speed. Then suddenly, it all made sense. A meta human like Barry killed his mother. It finally seemed possible. Joe had never believed Barry's version of what had happened the night Barry's mother died. The psychologists had explained it as Barry's young mind dealing with the fact that his father had murdered his mother. However, when Joe discovered Barry's new gifts he believed him. As the police officer who arrested Barry's father, Joe joined Barry on his crusade to find his mother's true killer and free Barry's father.

Right now though, they had a different crime to solve. The mysterious beheading of the man in the alley. Barry walked over to the body.

"Hey Barry," Eddie said with a smile.

"Hey Eddie," Barry replied before his eyes returned to Joe's. "What do we know?"

Joe shrugged. "Some junkie found this guy and called it in."

"He's missing his head," Barry remarked.

"Well thanks for coming down here and solving that one for us, Sherlock," Joe said with a good humored chuckle as he slapped Barry on the shoulder. Barry smirked at Joe before pulling on a pair of latex gloves and squatting down beside the victim's body. He leaned forward and examined the neck.

"What kind of a sicko cuts someone's head off?" Eddie asked.

Barry glanced up at him. "They didn't cut his head off," Barry said. "They ripped it off."

"Excuse me?" Joe said, placing his hands on his hips as his eyebrows scrunched together. "Did you say 'ripped'?"

"Yep," Barry replied as he pointed to the neck. "The skin and muscles are clearly torn, not cut."

Eddie shot a bewildered glance to Joe and then back down at Barry. "Can a person even do that?" he asked with a slight, but extremely nervous laugh.

Barry stood up, his eyes dancing from Joe's to Eddie's. "Not a normal person, no," he said.

Joe and Eddie looked at each other and then back at Barry. Joe quickly scanned the area to ensure no one except Barry and Eddie were within earshot. "Are you saying that a…," he paused and lowered his voice even further, "meta human did this?"

Barry shrugged. "I can't be certain, obviously, but it sure looks like it to me, at least from what little I've seen." The three men stared at one another for a long moment.

When Star Lab's particle accelerator exploded it created an unknown number of meta humans. The word "meta" is the ancient Greek word for "above" or "beyond" and has the same basic usage as the Latin word "super." Thus, the term "meta humans" meant humans with powers and abilities that went above and beyond those of normal men and women. Super humans like Barry.

Unfortunately for Central City, and the world, it was not only good men and women like Barry Allen that were bestowed with incredible gifts by the particle accelerator. Criminals and other bad guys received incredible super powers as well. Oddly enough, besides Barry and a pair of guys referred to collectively as Firestorm, almost every single meta human in Central City seemed to be a bad guy. Thus, the folks at Star Labs worked with Joe, Eddie, and Barry in secret to capture these meta baddies. Because no normal prison was equipped to hold meta humans, once captured they were imprisoned in a high-tech dungeon buried deep beneath Star Labs.

It was advantageous to use Barry's unique abilities to aid in the fight against evil meta humans. Since Barry was assisting in fighting crime, something that—besides being illegal under vigilante laws—could place him and his loved ones in danger of retribution by the criminal element, he wore a disguise. When called into action, Barry Allen altered his persona completely. He became a costumed hero, donning a red mask and matching red suit complete with a golden bolt of lightning emblazoned on the chest. He would then streak about the city fighting crime and saving lives as the now famous superhero, known widely as The Flash.

Barry's eyes stopped on Joe's. "Do we know where the head is?" he asked. It would be helpful to examine the head as well and Barry hoped it had not been carried away by the killer.

"Yeah, it's right over there," Joe said as he turned and pointed. Barry tilted his body to look around Joe and Eddie. Then he saw it, lying at least ten feet away, face staring blankly at the sky above.

"I'm going to have a look," Barry said and stepped around the victim's body and past Eddie. He made his way to the head, but stopped a few feet away to allow police photographer Tamara Lynch, to snap a photograph. Tamara smiled at Barry as she took a step back to give him some room. Barry knelt down beside the head and stared it in the face. Its eyes were wide and its mouth agape, which seemed a logical expression for a man having his head ripped right off of his shoulders. Barry reached forward and gently rolled the head toward him to examine the top of the skull. "Oh my God," Barry said startled. "Tamara can you get a shot of this?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Tamara replied as she snapped a picture. She then walked away. Not wanting to look at the head any longer than necessary, she decided to take more pictures of the alley.

Joe and Eddie stepped up beside Barry. "What is it?" Joe asked. Barry leaned out of the way so that the two detectives could see. Both of their eyes widened when they noticed the gaping hole in the top of the victim's skull. "What the hell?" Joe asked.

Barry looked up at him. "Someone removed this guy's brain."

"Holy cow," Eddie said as he stared at the hole in the victim's head.

Barry stood and turned to face the two detectives. "Do we know who this guy is?" he asked.

"Yeah, he had his wallet on him. Nothing appeared to be missing," Eddie replied as he pulled his spiral notepad from his pocket. He flipped a page. "Morris W. Jordan," he told them.

Barry nodded. "I'm going to take some samples to Star Labs. I think we're going to need their help on this one," Barry said.

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "I'll come with you." He then turned to Eddie. "You hit the streets and see if anyone saw anything." Eddie nodded. "And check this Morris Jordan out. Find out who he is, where he's from and if anyone would have a grudge."

"I'm on it," Eddie said as he flipped his notebook closed and spun on his heel to walk away.

Joe looked back down at the head. "This town just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

* * *

Dr. Caitlin Snow stared into the eyepiece lens of the microscope as she examined the flesh samples Barry had brought her. Caitlin was at one time the head of bio-engineering at Star Labs. Technically she still was. However, because everyone else in her department quit the lab following the explosion, it was more accurate to say that Caitlin was the entire bio-engineering department. In fact, besides Caitlin, the only two people remaining at Star Labs following the explosion were its founder, Dr. Harrison Wells, and whiz-kid mechanical engineer, Cisco Ramon. Those three were the sole occupants of the multi-story, multi-billion dollar laboratory. Star Labs was so uninhabited that basically anyone could walk in at any time of day or night, without having to go through any kind of receptionist or security guard.

"Where did you say you found this sample?" Caitlin asked.

Barry turned from his conversation with Dr. Wells and Cisco. "Um, it was under the victim's fingernails," he explained. When Caitlin said nothing further, Barry turned back to Wells and Cisco.

"It's possible that the victim's head was removed by a machine and not a meta human," Cisco was explaining.

"Certainly that's possible," Dr. Wells agreed, "But the machine would most likely be rather large and not easy to transport."

"That's true."

"Why?" asked Joe. "I've got a phone that is much more powerful than computers that a few decades ago filled entire rooms. Why can't the same be applied to this."

"That's a fair point, Detective," Wells remarked as he stared up at the Joe from his wheel chair. "But that technology came about because of the market for it. Billions of dollars and decades of research and development have gone into creating the smart phones we carry today. There just isn't a large enough market for head removers to justify that kind of time and expense. Thus, if it was a machine, it would most likely be crude and very large."

Joe opened his mouth to ask if the crime could have been committed by some kind of android or robot created for a purpose other than removing heads, but he was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He glanced at the caller I.D. and saw Eddie's smiling picture staring back at him. Joe excused himself, stepping away to take the call.

As Joe walked away, Caitlin turned to face Barry, Wells, and Cisco. "This is unlike anything I've ever seen before," she said. "Dr. Wells come have a look."

Wells nodded and maneuvered his electric wheelchair to the microscope, removing his glasses and placing his eyes against the eyepiece lens. "Interesting," Wells said. "It's definitely flesh," he remarked. "But it…" He lifted his head and looked at Caitlin. "It looks as though it has been dead for a long time."

Caitlin nodded. "Yet there are signs of regeneration, as though it were still alive. So it can't be dead."

Cisco slid his fingers up, pushing his long black hair behind his ears as he turned to Barry. "Maybe it's undead," he said wide-eyed.

"You mean like a vampire?" Barry asked.

Wells spun his wheelchair around to face Barry and Cisco. "I'm not sure what this is," he said with a smirk as he pointed toward the microscope, "but let's not start entertaining theories of mythical monsters just yet."

Just then Joe returned from his phone call. "That was Eddie," he told them. "He identified the victim as an employee of a Seattle-based company called _Max Rager_."

"Okay," Barry said.

"Turns out, in the last few months, there have been multiple unsolved murders in Seattle where the victim's brain has been removed."

Barry raised his eyebrows. "You wanna go check out Seattle?" he asked.

"Probably a good idea," Joe replied.

Caitlin glanced quickly at Wells and then back to Joe. "I think I should go with you guys," she said. "I mean whatever this is, I'd like to analyze it."

Joe nodded. "Fine with me," he said. "As long as it's alright with Dr. Wells."

"Certainly, Detective," Wells said. "She's the best there is."

"Well, let's go catch us a vampire," Barry said with a smile, eliciting a quizzical eye from Joe and an exasperated sigh from Wells.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **Seattle, Washington**

Olivia Moore, known to her friends and family as Liv, stepped into the King County Morgue located in the bowels of the Seattle Police Department building. With snow white hair and alabaster skin, the young coroner's assistant appeared to be either an albino, or some kind of emo/goth snow princess. In truth, however, she was neither. Liv Moore was a zombie.

No, she was not the decomposing, foot-dragging, groany-moany, eyeball-dangling, brain-eating zombie people normally envision. Well, she did eat brains, but other than that she did not really have much in common with stereotypical zombies. Not that those stereotypes were altogether incorrect. To the contrary, if Liv ever stopped eating brains for a prolonged period of time, she would revert to the more primal zombie of such film classics as _Zombieland_.

Liv had not been a zombie very long. In fact, as far as she knew, zombies had not even been in _existence_ very long. Liv's tragic existence as a member of the undead began one night at a boat party sponsored by the energy drink company _Max Rager_. Liv was unsure of exactly what happened, but at some point, people started going crazy. Like setting the boat on fire and eating each other crazy. She was fairly certain the designer drug utopium was involved, but beyond that she didn't really know much. What Liv did know, was that she was believed to have died and woke up the next morning in a body bag, a zombie. She quickly developed an appetite for human brains and because her taste buds were nearly completely numb, a taste for hot sauce.

Liv had once been a promising young medical intern, with an impossibly sweet and sexy fiancé, but following her transformation she quit both her job and her love. To have access to a ready supply of brains without resorting to murder, Liv took a job as an assistant medical examiner in the King's County Coroner's Office. She would simply remove and eat the brains of the recently deceased that showed up in the morgue.

Her boss, Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, knew Liv's secret. Ravi had worked for the Center for Disease Control until he warned his superiors about the impending zombie apocalypse once too often and was unceremoniously canned. Now, he was a medical examiner in the coroner's office, and in his spare time, when not playing video games or attempting to woo assistant district attorneys, he searched for a cure for zombism.

Liv bounced down the steps into the primary examination room, laid down her bag and picked up her white lab coat, throwing it on. She breezed into the back office, expecting to find Ravi…alone.

"Die, you damned brain-eating zombie!"

"What's going on?" Liv asked when she discovered Ravi sitting on a small swivel stool in front of a tiny television playing a video game. Sitting beside him, also playing and shouting for the death of all zombies, was Ravi's roommate—formerly known as Liv's fiancé—Major.

Startled, both Ravi and Major spun to see Liv standing in the doorway. Ravi quickly hit the pause button on the video game and leapt to his feet. "Oh, here you are," he said in his ridiculously charming British accent. "Major bought this new video game," he began, but Major interrupted him.

" _Zombie Blasters III_ ," Major smiled at Liv.

"Yes," Ravi continued as he crinkled his nose, " _Zombie Blasters_. And he couldn't wait for me to get home and play it with him. So he brought it by the office."

Major set his controller down and stood, smiling at her wistfully. Liv couldn't help but think how good he looked in his navy blue t-shirt—or any shirt, for that matter. Of course, he looked best wearing no shirt at all. "Sorry, it was my fault," Major explained. "I didn't call or anything. I just popped in."

The truth was, Major "just popped in" more and more, since he and Ravi began rooming together. It was no secret that he still loved Liv, and the truth was she still loved him too. Liv did not break off her engagement with Major because she disliked him or had even fallen out of love. She broke up with him to save him from her fate. She did not want to turn Major into a zombie like her. But it still hurt her to see him, and though she hated herself for breaking his heart without a good explanation, she simply could not bring herself to tell him the truth. She had rehearsed telling him many times, but whenever the right opportunity arose, she froze. She didn't tell him she was a zombie, despite the fact that it felt like in those moments millions of people all over the world were screaming at her: "Just tell him the truth!"

Liv smiled sweetly at Major. "It's alright," she said. "When you get the urge to kill zombies, you just gotta go do it."

This caused Major to chuckle, but caused Ravi to become extremely uncomfortable and he rubbed his beard nervously. "I'm sure no one here had an _urge_ to kill zombies, Liv. I mean it's just a video game. I've certainly never had the urge to climb ladders while a ten foot gorilla threw flaming barrels at me."

Liv shot Ravi a sideways glance, but he only shrugged. Major's eyes danced from Liv's to Ravi's, as if he were trying to figure out an inside joke he was missing. Suddenly, the office phone rang.

"I'll get that," Liv said quickly and darted over to it.

"Saved by the bell," Ravi muttered to himself.

"I guess I should probably go," Major said.

Ravi nodded. "That's probably not a bad idea," he said. Major began to collect his video game system as Liv hung up the phone.

Liv turned to face Ravi. "That was Clive," Liv said. "He needs us to come to a possible murder scene."

* * *

Detective Clive Babineaux wore a navy blazer over a white shirt as he stood in a seedy motel room staring down at the lifeless body of a presumed overdose victim. The deceased wore nothing but a bra and panties, had a bruise on her right cheek and a busted lip. Clive thought she had probably been attractive before her overdose and subsequent days lying dead on a filthy bed.

Clive was a homicide detective in the Seattle Police Department, and though he was a rookie detective, he had spent enough years working in vice squad to know something was wrong with this "overdose." Then again, he had a stack of case files as high as his desk to work on, so if this really was just some OD'd druggie, he didn't want to waste too much time on it. Thus, he called Ravi and Liv to come give an opinion.

"What have we got Detective?" Clive heard Ravi's familiar British accent behind him and turned to see the medical examiner and his assistant stepping into the motel room.

Clive motioned to the dead woman lying on the bed. "Appears to be a heroin overdose," he said. Ravi and Liv slipped past him as they snapped on blue, latex gloves.

"But you don't think so?" Ravi asked.

Clive shrugged. "I worked vice for enough years to recognize a druggie. She just doesn't have the look, you know? Something about her just…I mean, for starters heroin addicts normally have arms covered in bruises from all of the needles."

Ravi leaned over to examine the small puncture wounds in her arm. He looked up at Liv. "Check between her toes," he said to Liv's understanding nod. She spread the woman's toes apart, but didn't see any of the typical puncture wounds one would expect.

"She hasn't been injecting between her toes," Liv informed them.

Ravi straightened and turned to face Clive. "You appear to be correct, Detective," he said. "But that doesn't mean she was murdered. It is relatively common for people to overdose on their first dally with heroin."

"Yeah, I get that," Clive said, "but it looks like someone went out of their way to make this look like she was some drug-addled prostitute." Liv nodded in agreement as she stared down at the body of the young woman. "You getting anything?" Clive asked Liv. She glanced at him and then at Ravi. She knew what Clive meant—did she have any psychic feelings or visions?

Liv was not a psychic, but Clive thought she was. In fact, it was the primary reason he had asked her and Ravi to come down to the scene. In truth, they could have examined the body back in the coroner's office, but Clive wanted to see if being at the scene brought on any psychic visions.

Though Liv was not a psychic, she did have visions. A strange yet interesting side effect of eating brains was that the consuming zombie received the characteristics, habits and often times even visions from the deceased's memories. Wanting to be helpful in solving murders, but not wanting to tell Clive that she was a zombie that had just eaten the victim's brain, Liv pretended to be a psychic. Clive had been reluctant to believe it at first, thinking they were playing a prank on the newbie, but after her visions had helped crack several cases wide open, he was a convert.

"No, nothing yet," Liv said.

"Right, well perhaps we should get the body back to the morgue. Maybe that'll jar something in her cute little psychic brain," Ravi said as he crinkled his nose.

Clive narrowed his eyes quizzically as he stared at Ravi. He didn't understand how removing the body to the morgue would help, but with these two he had pretty much learned to just go with it. He'd visit the morgue later to determine which one of Liv's many, many, many personalities was on display today for the office pool.

* * *

After Ravi and Liv transported the body of the presumed overdose victim back to the morgue and determined that she had, in fact, died of a heroin overdose, Liv pulled out her bone saw and began cutting into the deceased's skull. A little cleanup, a batch of Raman noodles and half a bottle of hot sauce later, Liv was sitting in the back office snacking on the victim's brain. Initially Liv was worried that there might still be enough heroin to get Liv high, but after discussing with Ravi the two determined that the drug should not be that strong in the victim's system anymore.

Just as Liv was popping the last piece of brain from her bowl into her mouth, Ravi stuck his head in the door. "Clive's here. Get rid of the bowl, I don't want a repeat of the pizza incident," he said referring to the time Clive ate a piece of Liv's pizza not knowing that what he thought were mushrooms were actually small pieces of brain.

"All gone," Liv assured him and then set the bowl down and followed Ravi out of the office. They found Clive waiting for them, a manila file in hand.

"So whatcha got, Doc?" Clive asked Ravi.

"Well," Ravi began as he shot a quick glance at Liv, "She did die of a heroin overdose."

"Anything with your pycho-hoodoo-thingy?" Clive asked Liv. She shook her head.

"Were you able to identify her?" Liv asked Clive.

"Yeah," Clive replied as he opened the manila folder. "Erin Shultz. No history of known drug use. No trouble with the police. Majored in PR and Marketing at UDub and went to work for the energy drink company _Max Rager_ after college."

At the mention of _Max Rager,_ Liv's eyes shot to Ravi and then back to Clive. "Interesting how often that name keeps popping up in our investigations, isn't it?" Clive asked. Before they could answer they heard voices behind them.

"I thought we'd find you down here," came the familiar voice of Clive's commanding officer, Lt. Suzuki. The lieutenant descended the stairs into the morgue. Liv couldn't help but think he had the worst spray on tan she had ever seen. Then she noticed three other people following him, two men and a really hot woman.

Suzuki made introductions. "Detective Clive Babineaux, this is Detective Joe West from Central City. Detective West and his people are looking into a murder back home that they think might be linked to some of our unsolveds. I told them I'd give him to my best detective."

Clive knew what "best detective" meant. The new guy. The expendable one. Basically the Lieutenant was dumping these people on Clive.

"Sir, my caseload is already…," he began to protest, but Suzuki held up a quieting hand.

"I know you're the right man for the job, Babineaux," with that Suzuki spun and strode away, back up the stairs and out of the morgue. They watched him leave and when he was gone Joe turned to Clive.

"Look, Detective Babineaux," Joe said, "I know this is a giant pain in the butt for you, but we could really use your help."

Clive nodded. "Yeah, sure. Call me Clive, alright."

"Thanks, Clive. And this is Barry Allen from Central City's crime lab and Dr. Caitlin Snow of Star labs."

"Dr. Snow?" Ravi asked as his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he pushed past Clive and Joe to hold out a hand for Caitlin. "Oh my God, I've read all of your work on genetic pathogen transfer. It's amazing." He turned to the others. "Dr. Snow is one of the premiere bio-engineers in the country."

Liv glanced down at Caitlin's very long legs. She then leaned over to speak softly to Clive. "I wouldn't mind her engineering my biology, if you know what I mean," she said. Clive slowly turned his head to look at Liv, a stunned expression on his face. He saw her leering at Caitlin and just shook his head. The boys in the office pool wouldn't believe this one.

Caitlin brightened. "Thank you, umm…" she said as she shook Ravi's hand.

"Oh, sorry. Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti," he introduced himself as he shook her hand.

"Wait, Dr. Chakrabarti from the CDC?" she asked.

"Formerly, yes," Ravi said with an expression that showed both sullenness and amusement in the same instant.

"You wrote a paper on the possibility of a drug induced pathogen," she said.

"Yes," Ravi replied. "That may or may not have been the reason I was released from the CDC."

"Yes, I remember it was quite controversial, but brilliant."

"Oh? Brilliant?" he asked as he grinned from ear to ear while crinkling his nose.

"Caitlin, if you wouldn't mind us getting back to the matter at hand, so we can get out of these good people's hair…" Joe said.

"Oh, of course," she replied as she pushed the hair back over her ear with an embarrassed giggle.

Joe turned to Barry. "You wanna tell 'em what we got?"

"Yeah, sure," Barry said. "Basically, there was a man murdered in Central City who had his head ripped from his shoulders and the brain removed."

Liv shot a quick glance to a wide-eyed Ravi.

"As horrifying as that sounds, what does it have to do with Seattle?" Clive asked.

"Well first, there have been several unsolved murders here in Seattle where the brain was also missing," Joe said. "And second, this man worked for a company based out of Seattle called _Max Rager_."

Clive turned to look at Ravi and Liv then turned back to face Joe. " _Max Rager_ , huh?" he said. "That is an interesting coincidence."

"What is?" Barry asked.

"We just began investigating the death of another _Max Rager_ employee here in Seattle." Joe raised his eyebrows.

"Was their brain missing?" Joe asked.

"No, but it seems a little odd all the same," Clive replied. "Here's the file," he opened up the manila folder to show Joe.

"Why don't I let Dr. Chakrabarti have a look at our sample," Barry said.

"Good, idea," Joe replied without looking up from the file.

"Oh, please call me Ravi," Ravi told Barry as he led him to the microscope.

Liv wandered over and intercepted Caitlin before she could join them. "Hi, I'm Liv," she said and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Caitlin," Caitlin replied as she shook Liv's hand.

"So are all bio-engineers in Central City as beautiful as you?" Liv asked.

"Oh, that's so sweet, but I'm certainly not beautiful."

Liv narrowed her eyes to stare incredulously at Caitlin. "What penis jockey sold you that BS?" Liv asked causing Caitlin to laugh. "If my biology teachers had looked like you, I'd have never been able to concentrate and would have failed for sure."

"Caitlin," Barry called. "Come explain this to Ravi."

"Of course," she replied. "Excuse me," she said to Liv. Liv began to follow her when she heard her own name called.

"Hey Liv, why don't you come with me and Joe," Clive said. "We're gonna go talk to the deceased's roommate. I want to see if you get anything, you know."

Liv sighed. "Alright," she replied as she stripped off her lab coat.

Clive turned to Joe. "Liv's a psychic," he said. "I know you probably don't believe that. I didn't either at first, but she has helped me solve several cases already."

Joe slapped Clive on the shoulder. "Trust me, with everything I've seen in the last year, I can believe just about anything," Joe said with a laugh. Liv joined them and the three walked up to stairs and out of the morgue to go interview Erin Shultz's roommate.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Clive knocked on the door of Erin Shultz's apartment. After a few moments the door slowly opened and Clive, Liv, and Joe were a little shocked by what they saw. The young woman who opened the door looked like she could be Liv's sister in that she had snow white hair, alabaster skin, and dark rings around her eyes. Liv recognized her as a zombie immediately. Possibly, the cutest zombie she had ever seen. In unison, Clive and Joe looked down at Liv and then back at the woman at the door.

Clive cleared his throat. "Are you Erica?" he asked as he pulled out his badge and held it up for her to see. Erica nodded. "I'm Detective Clive Babineaux of Seattle P.D. These are my associates, Joe West and Liv Moore."

Erica's eyes fell on Liv. She smiled and Liv returned the smile. Then her eyes darted back to Clive. "What's this about detective?" she asked.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your roommate, Erin Shultz has been found dead." One of the things Clive always did in a murder investigation, or possible murder investigation, was to watch people's reactions when they learned of the death of the victim. Sometimes it gave the whole damn case away.

Erica's hand immediately flew to her mouth as she backed away from them. It seemed impossible, but her face became even whiter. "I knew it!" she cried through sobs and then hunched over and nearly threw up. Liv rushed inside, squatting down to assist her.

"Just let it out, sweetie," Liv told Erica.

"I'm alright," Erica said as she composed herself and Liv helped her straighten.

"Let's get you to the living room to sit down," Liv said as she kept an arm around Erica's waist. Erica nodded and Liv led her away from the door.

Clive and Joe looked at each other. "This town has the whitest white folk I have ever seen in my life," Joe said.

"You ain't kidding," Clive replied as he stepped inside the door. Joe followed Clive into the living room where they found Liv sitting on the couch, her arms wrapped around Erica as Erica sobbed into her shoulder.

"May we sit?" Clive asked and Erica looked up at him and nodded. He and Joe selected chairs and sat down, watching as Liv patted Erica and stroked her hair.

"It is alright darling," Liv whispered to her. Erica eventually straightened, wiped her eyes and nose with a tissue, and faced Clive.

"I am very sorry about your roommate," he told her.

Erica nodded as she choked back a sob. "She was more than my roommate. She was my girlfriend. We were planning on getting married some day."

"Oh, you poor, sweet darling," Liv said as she wrapped her arms around Erica once again and squeezed her tight.

"I'm sorry," Clive said. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Erica pulled away from Liv and nodded wordlessly. Clive glanced at Joe and then back at Erica. "When I first told you about Erin, you said that you knew it. What did you mean?"

Erica looked down at the floor. "Erin has been missing for a week. I've been so afraid that…" she let it trail off. "How did she die?"

"Drug overdose," Clive informed her. "Heroin."

"Drugs?" Erica asked. "No, Erin didn't do drugs. Certainly not after what happened at…" she stopped.

"What happened at what?" Clive asked.

"Well, let's just say I did some utopium at a party not that long ago and…um…it messed me up pretty bad." She turned and looked at Liv who gave her sympathetic and understanding look. "Anyway, Erin didn't do drugs. Someone killed her," she said her voice becoming angry.

"You said she's been missing for a while, did you go to the police?" Liv asked.

Erica turned to face her. "I tried, but they didn't help. Said she would probably turn back up soon. In a weird way, I guess they were right."

"Do you know anything about the people she works with?" Clive asked.

"At _Max Rager_?" Erica asked, the contempt dripping from her voice. The way she said it jarred something in Liv's memory—well Erin's memory to be precise—and she had a vision. The vision, like all of them, was through the eyes of Erin.

 _Erin sat on the very couch that Liv was sitting on. Erica sat beside her crying just like now. She was holding Erin's hands in hers staring up into her eyes. "I'm a zombie, Erin," she said._

" _A zombie?" Erin asked in disbelief._

" _So are Karissa, Laural and Jimbo," Erica said._

" _What are you talking about?" Erin asked. "How could…?" she began._

" _It was that party. Max Rager!"_

Just as suddenly as Liv went into the vision she came out of it. Erica looked at Liv. Her eyes widened as she realized what had just happened. She knew Liv had just had a vision. Liv and Erica stared into each other's eyes for a long moment as tears streamed down their respective cheeks. Then they gripped each other into a tight embrace. "I am so sorry," Liv whispered into her ear.

"Thank you," Erica replied. She turned back to Clive and Joe. "I don't know much of anything about _Max Rager_. She glanced at Liv quickly but looked away. Liv stared at her, wondering why she lied.

"You sure?" Clive asked. He was no fool. It was clear to both he and Joe that Erica was holding something back.

"Yes, I'm sure," Erica shot back flatly. "Now is there anything else? I have somewhere to be."

Clive glanced at Liv and Joe before shaking his head. "Not right now." He pulled out a business card as he stood and handed it to her. "Call me if you think of anything else that may help us. Anything."

"I will," she said.

Suddenly Liv snatched the card from her and dug a pen out of her bag. She scribbled something on the card and handed it back. "This is my cell," she said. "Call me if you need something. Any time day or night, okay?"

Erica smiled sweetly at her. "Okay, thank you."

Erica walked them to the door and Liv hugged her and kissed her gently on the cheek before leaving.

Liv joined Clive and Joe at Clive's car. "So, we're going to _Max Rager_ , right?" Liv asked.

"You damn straight we are," Clive replied.

* * *

"I don't believe it!" Caitlin said. She was part sitting, part leaning against Ravi's desk beside the microscope as Ravi sat in his chair arms spread wide.

"I know," he said.

"The CDC actually fired someone as brilliant as you for warning them about a potential outbreak that could literally wipe out mankind?" Caitlin was so exasperated by the situation that she was on the verge of anger.

"There's that word again…Brilliant," Ravi said as he crinkled his nose. "Thank you, that means so much to me coming from you. I mean you've had some of the most cited papers of the modern era." Caitlin blushed. "When I was your age, I spent all of my time playing _Diablo_ and _Demon Hunter_." He crinkled his nose as he looked away dreamily. "Of course, that's still what I spend most nights and weekends doing." Caitlin laughed before leaning over and slapping his arm flirtatiously.

Barry stood several feet away watching the two of them gush over each other. _So this is how super geniuses flirt?_ "Hey guys, can we get back to the missing brain mystery?" he asked.

"Oh, right, sorry," Ravi said as he straightened in his chair. "Alright, so this sample you have, well, as I was saying I've seen something like this before."

"Right," Barry said. "You warned the CDC about something and you got fired."

"Quite unceremoniously, too. Barely made it out with my CDC coffee mug," he said with a frown.

"Anyway…" Barry urged.

"Yes well, to get straight to the point, the greatest epidemic of the twenty-first century, or any century for that matter, is beginning. Right here in Seattle."

"Wait, what epidemic?" Barry asked. "There is a disease that makes people's heads fall off and their brains burst out of their skulls?"

Caitlin and Ravi both turned to stare at Barry dumbfounded. "No," Ravi said. "That would be quite messy though. The epidemic I'm speaking of, the drug induced pathogen, affected the killer not the victim."

"Incredible. Everything you warned about…" Caitlin said as her voice trailed off. "Right here."

"That is why I left Atlanta to come to Seattle and took this job. I'm working on a cure right now."

Barry was confused. Very confused. "A cure for what? What is this drug pathogen thing?"

"Barry, have you not been paying attention?" Caitlin asked.

Barry was taken aback. He had been paying attention. Well trying to. It was kind of difficult to keep up between the flirting and the words and theories that he did not really understand. Barry was a scientist and extremely bright, but these were two of the greatest minds he'd ever met. Sometimes even someone as smart as Barry needed it dumbed down a bit.

"Well…I…" he stammered.

"Zombies, Barry," Caitlin said impatiently. "Zombies."

Barry straightened, spread his arms out to his side and cocked his head as he gave them a frustrated stare. "I am pretty sure if you two had used the word 'zombie' I would have realized it," he said. Zombies had freaked Barry out ever since Iris had made him watch _Night of the Living Dead_ when they were kids. She had hidden in the closet before bed and leapt out at him nearly causing him to pee his pants. He'd refused to watch zombie movies ever since.

"Fair point," Ravi said. "But Caitlin is correct, it is zombies. But not zombies like we are used to seeing on television with body parts falling off. These zombies exist among us and no one even realizes it. I mean there are signs, but…" He stood and became really animated. "Look the older generation is so worried that kids today are turning into smart phone zombies. That they are all iPhone Obsessed and that we've become an iPhone Nation. The truth is there are real, brain-munching zombies. Our kids will be iZombie Obsessed living in an iZombie Nation."

"So you're saying that a zombie killed our victim and ate his brains."

"Exactly," Ravi said.

Barry looked at Caitlin. "So there is no meta human?"

"Not in the traditional sense that we normally use the term, no," Caitlin said.

"So how do we recognize them?" Barry asked.

Ravi shrugged. "I mean there are some ways, but they disguise themselves. They have super pale skin and bleachy white hair. But so many use spray on tans and hair coloring…"

Barry titled his head to stare at Ravi. "Zombies obsessed with their appearance?" he asked incredulously.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. These aren't zombies like you think of. They live and work with us."

"Liv," Caitlin said.

"What?" Ravi asked, the shock evident in his voice.

"Liv is a zombie, isn't she?"

"Well…um…" Ravi stammered as he was caught unawares.

"Oh my god!" Caitlin said without waiting for him to answer. "That's incredible."

"Wait—the super cute albino doctor that works here?" Barry asked. "She's a zombie?" Ravi nodded. "You're not kidding—they really do blend in."

"So, you both believe this?" Ravi asked with an unsure expression on his face.

"Why wouldn't we?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, I mean last time I told anyone other than Liv about this I was fired."

"Ravi, after everything Caitlin and I have seen this past year, zombies seem down-right normal," Barry said.

Ravi smiled. "So, your turn," he said.

"For what?" Caitlin asked.

"I mean I read the news, I know about the Flash. Tell me about these meta humans in Central City."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Liv could not take her eyes off of Jessie. To be more precise, Liv could not take her eyes off of Jessie's legs. She quietly thanked the powers above that the _Max Rager_ assistant had one of those trendy modern desks that were really just glass top tables with a keyboard tray. Jessie wore a short, suit skirt and had crossed her legs under her desk, bouncing her right leg up and down as her tan pump dangled from the tips of her finely pedicured toes. Liv watched the toned and bronzed leg bounce up and down, up and down.

Liv leaned over to Clive. "She's hot, don't you think?" she asked.

"Yeah, I mean she's attractive," Clive said as his eyes went everywhere in the room except, Jessie's legs.

"Attractive? No, my mom is attractive, that bitch is sexy as hell!"

Clive looked at Liv with shock on his face. "Are you gay?" he asked flat out. "I mean I don't care one way or the other, but I just assumed that since you had been engaged to…" He stopped as realization flashed across his face. "Is that why you broke up with Major? He said you never gave him a reason and to be honest, I can't understand why anyone would want to break up with Major."

Liv scrunched her face up as she returned Clive's stare. "Clive, are you sure you're not gay?" she asked.

Clive dismissed the remark with a wave of his hand. "You know what I mean," he said.

Liv chuckled. "I'm not gay," she said. "Not that there's anything wrong with it." That, of course, was not entirely true. Liv was gay and would be until the effects of Erin's brains wore off. Erin was a lesbian, so while under the influence of her brains, Liv would be too. Thus, Liv would have to make a conscious effort to stop staring at Jessie's legs. Jessie's long, beautiful legs. Clearly Erin was a leg girl. "I'm going to go talk to her," Liv said, and before Clive could stop her Liv was on her feet and standing by Jessie's desk, flirting.

Joe leaned over to Clive. "She's an interesting one," he remarked. "She always like this?"

"No," Clive replied. "Sometimes she's crazy."

Just a few more minutes passed before Jessie's phone buzzed and she clicked a button on her headset. "Yes, sir," she said and then stood. "Mr. White will see you now," she informed them in a beautiful Irish accent that made Liv want to dip her toes in Guinness foam and lick them off one-by-one. Apparently, Erin had a foot-fetish too.

Jessie walked around her desk and opened the door allowing Liv, Clive, and Joe to step inside the office before closing the door. Jonathan White was _Max Rager's_ Vice President for Marketing. Clive presented his badge as Jonathan White stepped around his desk to greet them.

"Mr. White, my name is Detective Clive Babineaux, Seattle P.D. This is my associate, Liv Moore," he said motioning to Liv. "And this is Detective Joe White of Central City P.D."

Jonathan White shook hands with Clive and Joe, but did everything he could to not recoil when Liv offered hers. "Please, call me Jon," he said as he recovered and flashed his P.R. smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Have a seat." He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk and each of them sat as Jon walked back around his desk and did the same. "I'm assuming since Detective West came from Central City that this has something to do with Mo Jordan's recent passing."

"You heard about that?" Joe asked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Indeed. Tragic. He was a good PR man." Jon shook his head. "They say he was murdered. Mugged or something, in an alley."

"We're not sure if it was a mugging, but yes he was murdered," Joe said. "His head was ripped off of his shoulders and his brains were missing."

At the mention of this all color drained from Jon's face. "Missing?" he managed to ask through dry lips. "H-how do you mean?"

"Well, a hole was punched into the top of his skull and his brain was removed," Joe explained matter-of-factly.

Jon's eyes flashed to Liv, but quickly jumped away. He swiftly composed himself, and forced a smile. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, two of your employees died under mysterious circumstances in the last week," Clive said.

"Two?" Jon asked. "Who was the other?"

"Erin Shultz," Liv said, forcing Jon to look at her once again.

"Erin's dead?" he asked. "Not like Mo, I hope?"

"No, heroin overdose," Clive said.

Jon raised his eyebrows to convey surprise. "Oh Erin," he said like a disappointed father. Somehow that triggered one of Liv's visions.

 _Erin was in Jon's office, behind his desk, digging through his files. She found the one she was looking for and pulled it out, flipping it open. The front page was a memo regarding the side effects of the Max Rager energy drink. Suddenly she heard the door open. She leapt up to see Jon standing there._

" _Oh Erin," he said disappointment clear in his voice._

Suddenly, Liv came out of her vision. Clive was staring at her. "You okay?" he asked.

Liv ignored the question and instead directed one to Jon. "Didn't you catch Erin searching through your files?" she asked.

"Well, how would you know that?" Jon asked.

"She found one about the side effects of _Max Rager_ , didn't she? Pretty damning stuff."

"Yes, well, it's no secret that there have been some law suits filed. It was our belief that Erin was working for the other side. We fired her after I caught her in my files. That was over a week ago. I haven't seen her since." He stood. "Now, I am a busy man, so if you'll excuse me."

They stood up too.

"Could we get a copy of Ms. Shultz's termination paperwork?"

"Why don't you call our corporate counsel? I'm sure they can help you with anything you need. Jessie has the number." Clearly something in Liv's line of questioning had bothered him as he was no longer the helpful fellow that they had initially met.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. White," Clive said as they left his office.

As they were stepping into the parking lot, Liv's cell phone rang. "Hello, this is Liv," she said when she didn't recognize the number.

"Hi," came an almost timid voice on the other end.

"Hi, who is this?" Liv asked.

"It's Erica."

Liv stopped. A big smile spread across her lips. "Hey you," she said. "What's up?"

"Well, you said I could call anytime," Erica replied.

"Of course. I'm glad you did."

"Would you like to come by tonight? Maybe talk a little," Erica asked.

"I'd love to," Liv said as she looked at Clive and Joe while performing an excited dance.

"Great, see you then," Erica said and then hung up.

"Who was that?" Clive asked.

"I've got a date with…" she stopped. "I mean, I'm meeting Erica. She'd like to talk some more."

"Alright, well we should all go then," Clive said.

Liv shook her head. "No, let me do this alone. I think I can find out more about Erin and what was going on without the two intimidating detectives there."

"Liv, she's…" Clive began, but Liv placed a calming hand on his arm.

"It'll be okay, Clive. Please trust me."

Clive released a breath. "Alright, Liv. Call me if you need me."

"I will," she smiled. Liv turned and walked away leaving Clive and Joe watching her go.

Clive turned to Joe Clive and shook his head in exasperation. "You got to put up with this kind of crap in Central City?"

Joe chuckled. "Oh man. If you only knew," he said. "Why don't we get back to the office. See what the big brains have come up with."

Clive nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Liv sat on the sofa in the apartment Erica had shared with Erin, staring down at a bowl full of Hellfire Cheesy Puffs. Erica entered carrying two Bloody Marys. She lowered herself down onto the sofa beside Liv, handing her a glass.

"I've modified my recipe," Erica smiled. "There is almost as much hot sauce as vodka in there now."

Liz chuckled. "Thank you." She took a sip. "It's delicious. Well, as delicious as anything can be these days."

"Yeah, that sucks doesn't it?" Erica said with a shake of her head. "Probably the worst thing about being a zombie. Oh, how I miss the sweet taste of pastry."

"Oh, yes," Liv agreed. "Hot sauce soaked Raman noodles, and pepperoni and brain pizza just can't compare."

"I hated spicy food before this. I had a serious sweet tooth," Erica explained. "Erin baked all the time. She made these fantastic cake balls."

"Yum," Liv said as she slid her knee up onto the couch turning closer to Erica.

"Oh my God, they were so wonderful," she looked up at the ceiling dreamily remembering. "I may have been more attracted to her cooking than her," she laughed. "Don't get me wrong. Erin's gorgeous." Erica stopped suddenly. She placed her face in her free hand as a sob escaped her lips. She began to cry and Liv took Erica's glass and set both on the coffee table. She began rubbing Erica's back gently in an attempt to comfort her.

"I love her so much," Erica said.

"I know you do," Liv told her. "I know you do."

Erica wiped the tears from her eyes and composed herself. She looked up at Liv. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry?" Liv asked. "Why would you be sorry? You just found out your girlfriend died. I'm so impressed that you can function at all. You are so strong." Liv pushed a loose strand of Erica's white hair back behind her ear. "And so beautiful."

Liv couldn't believe she had said that. She needed to stop flirting with Erica and change the subject quickly. "I recently lost someone close to me, too," Liv said.

"Oh, no," Erica said. "Who was it?"

"My boyfriend. Other than the asshole that turned me this way, he was the only other zombie I had met until meeting you." Liv wiped a tear from her eye as she remembered Lowell.

"What happened to him?" Erica asked.

"He was murdered. By another zombie."

Erica flung her arms around Liv and they both held each other tight for a long moment, comforting one another. Liv eventually pulled away. "You don't know how wonderful it is to find someone like you that can relate to me. To being a zombie and to…" her words trailed off as she wiped a tear for her eye.

"Me too, Liv. It's hard to talk about this stuff with anyone else. It's hard to understand zombie problems if you've never experienced zombie problems." Erica brought her fingers up and brushed them lightly over Liv's cheek as she smiled gently.

As Liv stared into Erica's eyes the impulses and emotions took over. She felt a rush of love and desire like she had not felt in a long time. Liv lost complete control of herself and without any warning reached out, taking the beautiful face staring at her in her hands and pressing her lips to Erica's. She opened her mouth, kissing her deeply and Erica kissed her back. Erica reached up and placed her hand behind Liv's head, deepening the kiss.

Liv loved the feel of Erica's lips on hers. Erica was a marvelous kisser, her lips soft yet firm. Liv suddenly had another desire. To rip Erica's clothes off and run her fingers all over Erica's body. Liv's eyes popped open as she realized what was happening. She could not do this. It wasn't Liv that was attracted to Erica, it was Erin. When the effects of Erin's brains wore off, Liv would not feel the same about Erica. She could not do that to this poor, distraught, fellow zombie.

Liv pulled her lips away. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered.

"It's alright," Erica smiled.

"No, it's not alright. You're vulnerable right now, and I…" She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I shouldn't do this. I just couldn't help myself."

She turned away and picked up her drink, taking a swallow.

"Wait," Erica said. "You kiss just like Erin does." She reached her fingers under Liv's chin and turned Liv's face to look at her. "You ate her brain, didn't you?"

Liv didn't need to answer. The wide-eyed guilty expression on her face said it all. "I'm sorry," Liv whispered as tears spilled from her eyes to stream down her cheeks.

Erica silently stared at her for a long moment. Suddenly, she reached out and pulled Liv to her, pressing her lips to Liv's once again. Liv wrapped her arms around Erica holding her tight. Erica gently pulled her lips away. She placed her forehead against Liv's. "Don't be sorry," she said softly. "You gave me the opportunity to kiss her one last time."

Liv smiled. "You have no idea how much she loved you."

"Thank you, Liv," Erica said as she laid her head on Liv's shoulder and squeezed her tight.

Erica and Liv held each other for a long time, just sitting on the sofa, rocking back and forth while crying on each other's shoulder. After a long time Erica finally straightened and smiled sweetly at Liv. "Are you even gay?" she asked.

Liv shook her head.

"Please tell me you are at least bi," Erica said with pleading eyes.

Liv threw her arms around Erica's neck. "I'm sorry, but ordinarily I am really into guys." She pulled away and smiled mischievously. "And amazingly, every guy I know is super hot."

This caused Erica to throw back her head as she laughed. "Well, I'll let you have them," she said. "But we can be friends right?"

"I'd love that," Liv said. "It's so hard being like this. I can't even talk to my best friends about it."

"How did it happen?" Erica asked.

Liv reached down and lifted her glass, placing it to her lips and taking a sip as she sat back on the couch. "I was at this boat party. Things went crazy." A shiver creeped up Liv's spine as she remembered that night. She had gone to the party against her better judgment, invited by a fellow hospital intern. She had planned on spending the evening with Major. He told her she should go to the party, that she needed to get out, make some new friends.

To this day, Liv did not know exactly what happened. People on the boat started going crazy, killing each other. The boat caught fire. Liv went into the water. The next thing she remembered was waking up in a body bag, believed to be dead, but definitely undead.

"Anyway, this utopium dealer named Blaine made a move on me and I threw my drink in his face. He must have been a zombie already, because his eyes glowed red and his face turned, you know."

"Oh yeah. I call it Z-time."

"I like that," Liv smiled. "I call it going full on zombie. So this guy reaches out and scratches me. Yada yada yada, I have this amazing craving for brains and can't taste anything that doesn't have half a bottle of hot sauce on it." Liv laid her head back against the sofa cushions as she stared at the ceiling. "Why oh why did I go to that stupid party?"

Erica stared at her. "Was it a _Max Rager_ party by chance?"

Liv turned her head to look at Erica. "How did you know that?"

"Because my transformation story is almost exactly the same as yours. Erin worked for _Max Rager_ in their marketing department."

"Right," Liv replied as she sat up, very interested in what Erica had to say.

"She got me and some of our other friends invites to this huge party in Central City. She couldn't go, but we were so excited, because it was supposed to be like the party of the year or something. Then everything went to hell. Some guy came up behind me and bit me right on the shoulder. I got the hell out of there, but not before I saw what looked to be a SWAT team moving in."

"SWAT?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't SWAT. It was like this _Max Rager_ private security or something. Militarized as hell though. It was almost as if they knew or expected something like this was going to happen."

"So what happened?"

"I came back to Seattle. I told Erin everything. I told her about what happened to me. What I had become." Erica wiped a tear from her eye. "She didn't run or flinch or anything. Just threw her arms around me and promised me we'd get these bastards. Apparently she had already heard rumors about _Max Rager_ having some kind of horrible side effect. It has something to do with utopium too, I think. But who really knows."

"Someone at _Max Rager_ knows," Liv said.

"Exactly! So Erin decides she's going to dig around a little. 'We'll expose them,' she says. 'They'll all go to jail.'"

"And that's why they killed her…" Liv said her eyes wide with the sudden realization. Erica nodded. "But how can we prove it?"

"Before Erin disappeared she made an amazing discovery. Our friends, the ones that went to the party with us, they didn't die. They are still alive."

"What?" Liv asked the surprise evident in her voice.

"They are zombies, but not like us. They are like the ones we see on television."

"Where are they?" Liv asked.

Erica smiled mischievously. "I'll show you," she replied.

* * *

The taxi stopped a block away as smoke and fire billowed out of the warehouse. Erica leapt out of the cab and began sprinting toward it. Liv reached into her bag, pulled out a ten dollar bill and tossed it to the cab driver before rushing out of the car after Erica. Liv caught up with Erica as she stood in front of the warehouse, hand in her hair.

"Erica what's wrong? What's in there?" Liv asked.

"My friends," Erica said.

"What?" Liv asked clearly confused.

" _Max Rager_ is covering their tracks. That's where they kept the zombies!" Erica threw her head back and screamed in rage. Then Liv took a step back as she saw the change come over her and Erica's eyes glow red. It was Z-time.

Erica dashed off toward the flaming warehouse. Liv knew there was no way to stop her now. She quickly pulled out her cell phone and called 911 to report the fire. Then she made another call.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Clive, Joe, and Barry sat at a table in the back of a low-key bar having a drink and discussing the case. Barry had been more than happy to leave the morgue and all the gushing and flirting between Caitlin and Ravi. Ravi had warned him that Clive did not know zombies existed and certainly did not know about Liv being among the undead. Barry promised not to tell him, after all he knew a little something about keeping a secret.

"It could just be a coincidence," Joe said. "But two deaths from _Max Rager_ marketing in such a short time span…"

"Gets you curious, doesn't it?" Clive asked.

"Yeah it does," Joe agreed.

"But it's more than that," Clive said. "Not too long ago, a friend of Liv's died in a sky diving accident. She worked for _Max Rager_ , too. Anyway, foul play was suspected and when questioning her ex boyfriend he claimed there were studies that _Max Rager_ makes like one in a thousand people go psycho."

"You think it's connected?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Clive admitted, "but what if one of your so-called meta humans went psycho from drinking this stuff?"

Barry looked down into his beer glass. Now he regretted that promise to Ravi. Solving the two cases would certainly be easier if he could tell Clive that he, Ravi, and Caitlin were convinced that a zombie had killed Morris Jordan in Central City, not a psycho meta human.

Barry's thoughts went back to when he was a little kid and he and Iris watched reruns of _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_. Sometimes Joe would watch with them. He would laugh at the TV and say, "You know, ninety percent of Adam's problems would be solved if he'd just tell Teela he's He-Man." Ironically, it was Joe that forbid Barry from telling Iris that he was the Flash.

Now, once again, more problems were caused by keeping a secret than telling it. What's the worst that would happen if they told Clive about the zombies? After all did it really make sense to keep the possibility of a zombie apocalypse from the public at large? Ravi had explained that he'd tried to warn the CDC and was fired for it and he was certain that no one would listen to them. He was probably right. But what about Clive? Surely Clive would listen. Then again maybe he'd think they were all crazy and tell his superiors, once again putting Ravi—and this time Liv as well—out of work. Not that the reasons for not telling Clive mattered. Barry had given Ravi his word and he would not break it.

"There is definitely something not right about the whole thing," Clive said before taking a sip of his drink.

"Okay, what do we know?" Joe asked. "A man gets murdered in Central City."

"And his head is ripped from his shoulders and brain goes missing," Barry added.

"That's just crazy," Clive said.

"Yeah, but you've had similar unsolved murders in Seattle," Joe reminded him.

"But what does that have to do with a woman overdosing on heroin?" Barry asked. "Seriously, besides the fact that they worked for the same company?"

"I don't know," Joe said.

"Me either," Clive said. "I'm just riding my instincts here. Something ain't right about that company. But Barry's right, we don't have anything really connecting them."

"Unless the company had Erin killed," Joe said. "What was Liv talking about your victim had found a file? Jonathan White sure clammed up when she mentioned it, didn't he?"

Clive nodded. "Yes he did. She was going to go talk to Erica again. I assumed it related to that one-in-a-thousand _Max Rager_ drinkers going psycho. Maybe I should give her a call." Clive reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Just as he did it started to ring. He looked at it and saw it was Liv calling. "Well, speak of the devil." He answered the phone and put it to his ear. "I was just about to call you. Hey…" he began but suddenly stopped talking, listening to Liv talk frantically on the other end. He nodded, his eyes were wide and darting from Joe to Barry. "Queen Street, got it!" Clive stood as he hung up the phone and dropped it into his pocket.

"What's going on?" Joe asked.

"There's a fire at a Warehouse on Queen Street. Liv's there. Says it belongs to _Max Rager_. And Erica just ran inside."

"Oh crap!" Joe said as he and Barry leapt to their feet. As they were leaving the bar Joe turned to Barry. "Hey, maybe you should just catch a cab back to the morgue," he said with a wink.

"Yeah, okay," Barry said as he picked up on Joe's hint. "I'll see you guys later." Barry watched as Joe and Clive climbed into Clive's car and drove away. Then in a flash he was gone. First he ran to his hotel room, and changed into his red costume so fast that no one even noticed. Then he flashed away to find the fire.

* * *

Liv stood outside of the burning warehouse anxiously watching as firetrucks began to arrive to put out the flames. Suddenly she felt a gust of wind blow past her. "What was that?" she asked herself.

Barry burst through one of the doors to the warehouse. The place was an inferno. He ran throughout until his saw what he was looking for. A young woman with white hair stood by the wall. Barry ran up to her.

"You must be Erica?" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She immediately turned and what Barry saw scared the hell out of him. It was clearly a zombie. Her face looked like it was rotting away. This couldn't be Erica. He felt confident Joe and Clive would have noticed if the victim's girlfriend looked like a character from _The_ _Walking Dead_.

"Whoa!" Barry said as he darted away. _Don't let her scratch you or bite you!_ Barry suddenly saw other human shapes moving through the smoke and flames. More zombies! Lots of zombies, stalking toward him from all sides. This was not good at all.

Suddenly, it got a lot worse. The doors of the warehouse burst open and firefighters started rushing inside. The zombies all at once turned their attention from Barry and focused on this new prey. "Oh no," Barry said. The firefighters had no idea what they were walking into.

The zombies grunted and moaned as they lurched toward the unsuspecting firefighters. Barry's eyes leapt from firefighter to firefighter doing a quick mental count of how many had entered the building. Then he was gone in a flash.

Outside of the warehouse, more firefighters were spraying the large warehouse with water from long fire hoses. Suddenly, their fellow firefighters—the ones that had rushed inside the building—began to appear, seemingly from nowhere in the arms of a man in a red suit and mask. Then the man would leave in a flash only to reappear with another firefighter in his arms.

"What the hell?" asked one of the firefighters as he looked at his buddy. His buddy just shook his head.

Barry continued to rescue the rescuers before the zombies got them until all ten were safely outside. Suddenly, he appeared beside the fire chief. "You in charge?" he asked the chief.

"Yeah," the chief said, his eyes wide in amazement.

"Douse the fires from out here, but keep your men from going inside."

"Why?" the chief asked.

Barry had to think quickly. "Um, there might be a pathogen inside. Highly contagious." It wasn't even a lie, really.

The chief nodded. He didn't know this guy, but he read the news and he was pretty damn sure this was that Flash character from Central City. The Flash was often assisting the FDCC, so the chief decided to trust him. Besides he didn't want to be the chief who caused his men to catch some superbug that went on to wipe out the entire human race.

Headlights illuminated Barry and the chief and when they switched off Barry turned to see Clive and Joe stepping out of Clive's car. Barry dashed away, back into the warehouse for one last sweep in an attempt to find Erica.

Clive turned to look at Joe. "Barry is the Flash?" he asked, the shock evident in his voice.

"Barry?" Joe asked nervously. "Oh, um, no."

Clive shot him an incredulous glare. "C'mon, Joe. You guys show up and so does the Flash…?" Clive let it trail off. "I'm a detective, remember? You think you can keep a secret that big right under my nose without out me sniffing it out?"

"Alright," Joe said as he glanced around to make sure no one else was within ear shot. "But let's keep this under wraps, okay? If word of this gets out it could put a lot of people in danger. Including my daughter."

"Yeah, absolutely. My lips are sealed," Clive said. As they closed the car doors and were stepping toward the the chief, Clive heard his name. He turned to see Liv sprinting toward them.

"Thank God, you're here!" she exclaimed as she reached them. She grabbed Clive by his coat sleeve. "Erica ran inside!" she shouted as she pointed toward the warehouse.

"Alright, we'll find her," Clive said.

Suddenly a stern voice interrupted them. "I need all of you to move out of here!" the fire chief said as he marched toward them.

Clive and Joe produced their badges and the chief nodded. "Glad you're here!" the chief said. "You can help me get these people back." Clive turned to see a gathering crowd of gawkers. "The Flash was here, did you see him?" the chief asked. "He pulled my men out of the warehouse. Brought 'em out one by one I swear to God." Liv and Clive both glanced at Joe who quickly looked away. "Anyway, he said there is a deadly virus or something inside the warehouse, so we need to get everyone away."

Clive nodded and turned to see a uniformed officer he recognized. He waved him over. The officer joined them. "Yes, sir?" the officer asked. Clive turned to Liv. "Liv this is Officer Myers, he's going to take you back to the morgue."

"No, I'm staying," Liv said firmly. "We've got to get Erica out."

Clive shook his head. "Out of the question. You're not a firefighter and you're not a police officer. If there really is some disease or something in there…" he trailed off.

"But Erica…" she began, but Joe interrupted her.

"The Flash will save Erica," he said.

Liv shot Joe a dismissive glance. "Is that what we're calling him?" she asked mockingly. She was no more a fool than Clive. Clearly Barry was the Flash.

"Look, don't make me have Michael put you in cuffs."

Liv turned to the officer. "Your name is Michael Myers?" she asked. He nodded. "Well that's comforting."

"Go," Clive commanded as he pointed toward the police cruiser.

"Fine!" she snapped with angry frustration. "I'll just let 'The Flash' save her," Liv said using her fingers to place 'The Flash' in air quotes as her voiced dripped with sarcasm.

As Liv left with Officer Myers, Joe turned back to the fire. It was raging pretty well. He hoped Barry could save Erica. But more importantly, he wanted Barry to save himself.

* * *

Inside the warehouse, Barry saw zombies writhing in pain as flames consumed them. Then he noticed three moving toward an exit door. He couldn't let them get out. Who knew how many people they would kill. Or worse, how many people would they infect and turn into zombies like them?

When he reached them, one spun to face him. She did not look completely like the others. She looked human. Well, almost. _Erica!_

"Erica, come with me!" Barry shouted. "I can save you!"

Suddenly, Barry's eyes went wide as he realized that the red glow around Erica's eyes had nothing to do with the fire. She turned and slammed the door open so they could escape. As the other two zombies scurried outside Barry moved toward them, but Erica leapt on him. She pinned him down and placed her face close to his. She seemed to be struggling with something and suddenly, her eyes and face returned to normal. She was actually quite pretty.

"Next time you interfere with me, I'll make you a zombie just like us!" she sneered before pushing herself off of him. She turned and sprinted for the door.

Barry laid on the floor of the warehouse for a long moment, petrified with fear. He had fought super-powered, mutated monsters by the truckload, but he had never been that terrified in his life. He had nearly become a zombie! He shook his head trying to rid himself of the fear. "Get up Barry, before you become Bar-B-Q," he said as he tried to will himself off the floor. Barry took a deep breath and pushed himself up. He bolted through the door that Erica and the two other zombies had run through.

Once outside of the warehouse, Barry glanced around, but saw no trace of the zombies. He silently cursed himself for allowing his fear to overtake him. Had he not been petrified, he could have stopped them. He shook his head and decided that there was nothing left to do, but go back to the morgue.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Barry was back in his street clothes when he stepped into the morgue. This time, however, he left his Flash suit on underneath, just in case he needed to change in a pinch again. He was greeted by smiles from Liv, Ravi, and Caitlin as he descended the stairs.

Liv rushed over to him. "Did you rescue Erica?" she asked, desperation in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" Barry asked as his eyes leapt to Caitlin. Caitlin smiled meekly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Joe said you would save her from the warehouse," Liv said.

Barry was taken aback. "Joe said _I_ would save Erica?" he asked, clearly confused. Joe would never tell Liv that Barry was the Flash, would he?

"Well, not exactly. He said the Flash would save Erica," Liv said.

Barry laughed nervously. "And you think I'm the Flash?" he asked.

Liv tilted her head at him. Barry's eyes shot to Caitlin.

"Hey, I didn't tell them," she said as she held up her hands defensively.

"We're not morons, Barry," Ravi said from behind Liv. "Besides you guys know Liv's secret, it's really only fair that we know yours."

"Would you just stop the silly secret identity games and tell me about Erica?" Liv said, clearly tired of Barry's denial.

Barry nodded. "I didn't save her," he said.

"Oh, no," Liv said as a hand flew to her mouth. She felt light headed, like she was going to pass out.

"But she's okay," Barry said quickly when he realized Liv thought she was dead. "She's alive... or whatever."

Liv released a relieved gasp. "Oh thank God!" she said as she bent over at the waist. "Thank God."

"But I do have some bad news," Barry said. Liv straightened to look at him. "She's a zombie."

"My God, Barry quit trying to scare me. She was already a zombie."

"Well, why didn't someone tell me?" Barry asked.

"I didn't know," Ravi said as he crinkled his nose. "In fact, I'm not one hundred percent sure I know who Erica is."

"I would have been happy to, but you went whooshing right past me and into the warehouse without so much as a 'how's it hangin' Liv.'"

"Okay, that's fair," Barry said. "But I got inside and was attacked."

"None of them scratched or bit you did they?" Caitlin asked as she quickly moved to his side and began examining him. "Maybe you should take off your clothes and let me have a look."

"No," Barry said. "I'm not taking off my clothes. I wasn't bitten or scratched. I'm fine."

"Alright, but if you turn into a zombie you better not eat my brain."

Barry shot her an annoyed glance before continuing his story. "This Erica was there in the warehouse. She helped two other zombies escape the fire through a back door." He paused and cleared his throat. "They weren't zombies like you or her though. They looked like they were extras from _Zombieland_."

Liv nodded. "They were her friends."

"Her friends?" Barry asked.

"Yeah," Liv nodded.

"Can it be reversed?" Caitlin asked. "Can we get them back to being more like Liv?"

Ravi shook his head. "Not that we know of. We tried once before with a friend of Liv's. Liv ended up having to kill her."

"Oh my god, that's awful," Caitlin said.

"I hate to seem insensitive, but is all that settled?" Ravi asked as he walked toward them and crinkled his nose. He placed his hand on Barry's shoulder. "I really want to talk to this guy."

Liv rolled her eyes. "Fine, Ravi."

"Goody," Ravi said as his lips parted into an enormously excited toothy grin.

"Talk to me about what?" Barry asked.

"You're a real life superhero, Barry," Liv said. "Ravi's about to totally geek out on you."

"Unless that's a problem," Ravi said as he raised his eyebrows and crinkled his nose.

"No, that's okay. I'm used to it, actually."

"Great," Ravi said like an excited child with a new toy.

"I have so many questions. How did it happen? How fast can you run? How does your brain keep up with your movements? Can you problem solve at super speeds…?" Ravi went on and on. As he gushed over Barry, Caitlin pulled Liv to the side.

"Is Ravi seeing anyone?" she asked.

Liv shook her head. "Not seriously. Not that I know of," Liv replied. Cailtin's eyes lit up. "Wait, are you interested in Ravi?" Liv asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Caitlin said as she glanced down at the floor and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked back up at Liv. "Don't you think he's cute?"

Liv turned to look at Ravi. Right now the biggest strike against him was that he was male. "I guess if you're into that sort of thing," Liv said.

"He's like this, tall, funny, brilliant, brown, James Bond," Caitlin said excitedly.

"Well, you go for it Caitlin," Liv smiled.

"Do you think he'd be interested in me?" Caitlin asked.

"Interested?" Liv asked. "Okay, first you're this brilliant scientist. Second, you're so hot my eyes burn when I look at you." This caused Caitlin to blush. "And if those two things weren't enough, you're personal friends with the Flash. Ravi's going to fangirl Barry for a long, long time."

Liv and Caitlin turned as they heard voices. Clive and Joe strolled down the steps. "Barry can I see you for a minute?" Joe asked and much to Ravi's disappointment Barry nodded and joined them. Joe placed a hand around Barry's neck and pulled him close so that only he and Clive were in earshot. "What happened in that warehouse?" Joe asked.

Barry's eyes shot to Clive and then back to Joe.

"It's alright, Clive figured out you're the Flash," Joe said.

Barry laughed. "Well there is no use whispering, because Liv and Ravi know too," he said.

Clive looked at Joe. "I told you Liv knew," he smiled. "You can't keep secrets like that from a psychic."

Clive patted Barry on the shoulder. "So I did a little digging," Clive said addressing everyone. "Guess who owns that warehouse."

" _Max Rager_ ," Liv said.

"Liv, why do you have to use your little hokey pokey visions to steal my thunder?" he asked.

"Sorry," Liv replied. "They were clearly trying to get rid of something once we started investigating. Erin had found something out. That they were covering up something. Something big. I think they killed her for it."

"What was it?" Clive asked.

"Something to do with the side effects of _Max Rager_."

"But why burn down a warehouse to cover up side effects?" Joe asked.

Just then Clive's phone rang. "Babineaux," he said as he lifted it to his ear. "Oh my God how many?" His eyes got wide. "Thank you." He hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Liv asked.

"Fire department. They found ten dead bodies inside the warehouse, burned to a crisp."

Barry's eyes met Liv's.

"I think we should go have another chat with Mr. White," Joe said.

"Good idea," Clive agreed. "Liv you come, too, in case you can get something with that little hoodoo sense of yours." Liv nodded. "And Barry, I wouldn't mind having the Flash around either. Get some use out of a superhero while you're still in town."

"Does he really have to go detective?" Ravi whined. "I mean he's so fast you could call him and he could be over there in the blink of an eye."

"You'll have to get him to sign your superhero trading cards later, Ravi," Liv teased. "But I'm sure you and Caitlin can find something to talk about."

Liv winked at Caitlin who smiled back nervously.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Liv stared up at the impressively large house as she closed the car door. "Wow, I guess I chose the wrong career path," she said.

"Yeah, there's lots of money in marketing evil corporations," Clive replied. He led the way up the front steps of Jonathan White's home and when he reached the top rapped his knuckles on the stained oak door. To everyone's surprise the door swung open slowly.

Suddenly Liv's eyes opened wide as she had a vision.

 _Erin was knocking on the same door. It was opened by Jonathan White. He smiled pleasantly. "Come on in Erin," he said as he moved out of the way. "Thank you so much for coming by. I just have a few things to go over with you."_

 _Jonathan closed the door and Erin turned to look at him. "I'm sorry, my dear," he said._

" _Sorry for what?" she asked. Suddenly everything went black as a hood was thrown over her head. "No!" she shouted. "Stop!" Liv could feel her kicking and scratching. Then she felt a pinprick in her arm and began to get really lightheaded before passing out._

When Liv came out of her vision, she saw Clive staring at her. "What did you see?" he asked.

Liv swallowed hard. "Erin was here. She went inside and Jonathan White was there. Someone threw a sack over her head."

Clive turned to look at Joe. "Door's open," he said.

"After you," Joe replied. Clive stepped through, followed by Joe, then Liv and Barry.

"Seattle P.D., anybody home?" he called, but received no response. Clive had only taken a few steps inside when he saw a pair of legs poking out from the parlor. He ran over, peeked around the corner and saw who he presumed to be the butler, lying dead on the floor. He knelt down beside the body. "Hole in the head and brains missing," Clive informed them as he drew his pistol from the shoulder holster beneath his jacket.

Joe drew his sidearm as well. "Barry and I will check upstairs," he said.

Clive nodded as he stood. He turned to Liv. "Come on," he said. Liv followed close behind him as Clive made his way through the house, pistol at the ready. They searched room after room until they came to the kitchen. "What the hell?" Clive whispered when he saw two bloody arms, but there was no body. They stepped past the arms and made their way around the counter where they found Jonathan White, sans arms. At least they thought it was Jonathan White. It was really impossible to tell, because his face had been smashed completely in. It looked like the culprit removed the brains through the front this time.

Suddenly Liv's eyes popped wide as she had another vision.

 _Erica was standing in front of an abandoned industrial building smiling up at it. "What's this?" Erin asked._

 _Erica turned to her and smiled. "This will be a safe house. A zombie safe house."_

" _They'll find you, Erica. Jon's already suspicious of me."_

" _Don't worry about Jon. I'm going to rip him to pieces. And all of the other Max Rager assholes that did this to us."_

 _Erin turned away and Liv saw the street signs "Mordred" and "Carver."_

" _Hey, it's going to be alright, you'll see," Erica said as she placed an arm around Erin's shoulders. "I'll protect you."_

When Liv came back to reality from the vision, she realized Joe and Barry were standing next to Clive staring at her.

"What did you see?" Clive asked.

Liv didn't answer at first. She fought back tears, but try as she might she was not able to prevent them. She fell to her knees as she sobbed into her hands.

Clive squatted down beside her and placed his arm comfortingly around her shoulder. He gave her a moment, but then leaned close and spoke. "Liv, we need to know what you saw," he said.

Liv nodded as she calmed herself and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "I know who did this," she said.

"Who?" Clive asked gently prodding her.

Liv turned to face him. "It was Erica."

"Are you sure?" he asked. Liv nodded. "Alright, well let's go to her house."

"No," Liv said. "She's won't be at her house. But I know where she is."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Liv stood in front of the industrial brick building staring up at it. She turned to Clive. "This is it," she said.

"Are you sure?" Clive asked. Liv nodded. Clive took a deep breath. "Well, suspected trespassers is as good a reason as any to enter without a warrant I suppose."

"Why don't Barry and I go around back?" Joe asked.

"Good idea," Clive said.

"And I think Barry should change," Liv said as she smiled at him.

There was a whoosh of air and suddenly Barry stood beside them wearing his Flash costume a toothy grin spread across his face. "This better?" he asked.

"Yeah," Liv replied. She took his arm and lowered her voice. "Be careful. You know what's in there." Barry nodded.

In a flash Barry snatched Joe and disappeared to the other side of the building.

Clive stood staring after them as he shook his head. "Now I have seen everything," he said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Liv replied under her breath.

"Let's go," Clive said as he led the way toward the door. He placed his hand on the knob and turned it. He wasn't surprised that it was locked. They stepped back and glanced around trying to assess the situation. Then Liv spotted an open window on the second floor.

"Look!" Liv said excitedly as she pointed to the window.

Clive nodded. "Yeah, but how do we get up there?" he asked. He quickly answered his own question. "The fire escape." They jogged over to the fire escape. The ladder was several feet off the ground. Clive leapt up to grab it and pull it down. He didn't quite reach it. He leapt for it again and still couldn't get it.

"I thought it was white men that couldn't jump," Liv said jokingly.

Clive shot her a sour glance which she answered with her blithe smile. Clive tried again, this time his fingertips touched, but he was still unable to pull it down.

"Alright, LeBron, how about you give me a boost," Liv said.

Clive nodded. "It's worth a try I guess," he replied. He bent over and cupped his hands together. Liv placed her foot in his hands and her hands on his shoulders. "Ready?" Clive asked.

"Yep," Liv replied and he launched her upward. It worked. Liv reached the ladder. "I got it," she said, but her excited expression changed when she realized she was simply hanging several feet above the ground without the ladder lowering. "Um, I'm stuck," she said.

Clive chuckled. "Hold on tight," he said as he pulled her bringing Liv down and the ladder along with her. "Maybe it's time to change your eating habits to put on some weight."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Liv retorted sarcastically.

Clive led the way up the ladder with Liv climbing up behind him. They soon reached the platform outside of the open window. "This must be how she is getting in and out," Clive whispered. Liv nodded. Clive peeked inside. "Looks clear, let's go."

Clive climbed inside first and Liv followed, ducking down as she crept into the building. The floor they stepped onto was mostly empty. There were some stacks of old boards and bricks, a coiled extension cord, some buckets of something or another, but that was about it. There were certainly no people or zombies.

"There are some stairs over there," Clive said, pointing across the floor. They made their way across to the stairwell, but just before they reached it, Liv snatched Clive by the jacket causing him to spin around to face her.

"Look, before we do this there is something you need to know."

"Alright?" he said as he tilted his head in anticipation.

Liv opened her mouth to tell Clive the truth, to tell him she was a zombie and that the people they were after weren't people at all. They too were zombies. That he needed to aim for the head and by no means should he allow himself to be bitten or scratched. Before she could however, they were interrupted.

"What are you doing here?" a voice demanded and Clive spun to see Erica standing at the top of the stairwell.

"We've come to arrest you for the murder of Jonathan White and, I suspect, Morris Jordan in Central City."

Erica ignored him and turned her attention to Liv. "You brought the police here? How could you do this, Liv?" she snapped.

"You killed those men," Liv said despondently.

"They aren't men. They are monsters. But I didn't kill Morris Jordan."

Liv's face displayed genuine surprise at this news, but Clive was not fazed at all by it. "Well, then I'll just charge you with murdering Jonathan White and his butler," Clive said.

"Those bastards killed Erin and a lot of other good people," Erica shouted at him.

Clive nodded. "You know, I believe you, Erica, but you're not judge, jury, and executioner," Clive said. "Now raise your hands and turn around."

To Liv's surprise and great relief, Erica obeyed. She raised her hands up into the air and turned. Clive reached behind him and removed the cuffs from his belt as he walked toward Erica. "You have the right to remain silent," he began as he grabbed Erica's wrist. Before he could continue, Erica spun around lifted Clive into the air and tossed him down the stairs. She then spun to face Liv and Liv swallowed hard when she noticed the glowing red eyes. It was Z-time.

* * *

Joe and Barry moved slowly across the ground floor of the building. Barry had filled Joe in on the zombies. Joe took it in stride. Having dealt with meta humans, zombies seemed somehow normal. He only had one question. "So I need to shoot them in the head to kill them?" he asked.

"According to Ravi, that's the best way," Barry replied.

"That's all I need to know."

"Well, don't let them bite you or scratch you either," Barry said. "That's pretty important."

"I do not intend on letting them get anywhere near me," Joe assured him.

Just as the words left Joe's mouth, he felt the ground shake as he heard a thud on the floor behind him. He spun quickly and his eyes widened and a yelp of terror escaped his lips as Joe saw a monster that he instantly knew to be a zombie. Joe attempted to raise his pistol. _Shoot it in the head!_ But his gun never got high enough. The zombie snatched Joe up by the lapels as he squeezed the trigger, sending three rounds into the creature's chest. It barely even fazed it as the zombie lifted Joe off the ground and tossed him like a rag doll.

Barry was about to move into action to save his friend when he heard a blood curdling shriek from above and glanced up just in time to see another zombie dropping from the rafters. Barry was the fastest man alive, but the terror of the zombies—being bitten or scratched by one—petrified him with fear. The zombie landed on top of Barry slamming him into the hard cement floor. Barry felt the scream as it rose from some primal area deep inside to escape his lips as the monster opened its mouth. The zombie lunged forward clamping its teeth down into Barry's shoulder.

Barry's initial hope was that the teeth had not penetrated his suit. Unfortunately, he knew that it had as he could feel the blood flowing down his shoulder. His scream of terror turned to one of agony as the zombie ripped into his flesh.

Barry realized in that moment that there was nothing he could do. Ravi had explained that it took only the slightest bite or scratch from a zombie to turn someone into the undead. Barry knew then that he was destined to become a zombie. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Liv was a zombie, and she did alright. As that thought flashed through Barry's mind the fear of zombies evaporated. As he accepted that he was about to become a zombie he was no longer afraid. Now he was just pissed!

Barry began to vibrate his body at a rate so fast that, to the human eye, he would just appear a blurry mess. This caused the zombie biting him to leap off.

Barry was on his feet in the blink of an eye. He turned to see Joe lying on the ground, his pistol several feet away. The other zombie was charging toward him. It would reach Joe before Joe reached his pistol. Barry flashed away in a red blur grabbing the zombie from behind and slamming it into the brick wall. Barry took it by its stringy white hair and slammed it's head into the wall over and over again, faster and faster. Once it reached twenty times per second, the head smashed open, spilling out oozy, gooey brains. Barry released the monster as he leapt back in disgust, allowing the zombie's limp body to fall to the floor.

Barry heard a terrible cry that was a mixture of shriek and moan, behind him and spun to see the other zombie charging him. He was about to dash out of the way when a shot rang out and he saw the creature's head explode and its body collapse onto the floor, sliding to a halt at Barry's boots.

Barry looked up to see Joe standing several feet away gripping his pistol. "Is that all of 'em?" Joe asked as his eyes quickly scanned the room, pistol remaining at the ready.

"Erica is still around here somewhere," Barry said as he also scanned the area.

Joe turned back to Barry. He cocked his head to the side when he noticed Barry's shoulder. "Did it bite you?" Joe asked as he hurried toward Barry, concern etched on his face.

Barry turned to look at his shoulder. The suit was torn where the creature had bitten through. "Yeah," Barry replied flatly as Joe reached him.

Joe stared at the bite marks and then turned his eyes to meet Barry's. "Go back to the morgue. Tell Caitlin and Ravi. It might not be too late."

Barry shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm not leaving you here alone with that Erica still lurking around."

"It wasn't a request, Barry it was a command," Joe said sternly.

"Joe, I…" Barry began, but Joe was having none of it.

"Go, now!" he snapped.

Barry gritted his teeth in frustration, but he flashed away. Joe took a breath. Suddenly he heard a gunshot ring out.

* * *

Liv felt the full force of Erica as she slammed into Liv knocking her down and causing her to slide several feet across the floor. Liv scrambled to her feet. "Erica, stop!" she shouted at her friend, but Erica's rage had forced her into full on zombie mode and Liv knew all too well that it was not easy to stop once it had begun.

Erica shrieked at Liv as she moved in on her prey sending a chill up Liv's spine. Liv backed away as Erica circled her, baring her teeth, her red eyes glowing menacingly. Liv wished then and there that she had eaten the brains of a kung fu master again.

Erica rushed toward Liv grabbing her by the arms. Liv slammed her head forward, smashing into Erica's nose before jerking her arms free and landing a one-two combination punch, knocking Erica backward. Erica recovered quickly and lunged at her, tackling Liv to the ground.

Erica sat atop Liv's back, straddling her. She lifted Liv's head by her her hair and slammed Liv's face into the hard concrete floor. Then she did it again. And again. After the third time having her face smashed against the floor, Liv's eyes began to glow red as she entered full on zombie mode.

Liv rolled over, slamming her arm into Erica's side, sending the other zombie flying across the floor. She leapt to her feet as Erica scrambled to hers. Liv saw a long 4X4 piece of lumber and raced to it. She reached it and lifted it off the ground just as Erica bolted toward her. Liv swung the board slamming into Erica's head on the left side. Liv swung back the other way slamming into Erica's head on the right side. Then she swung it upward like a batter aiming for a grand slam, catching Erica beneath her jaw and lifting her off the ground.

Erica landed on her back with a thud. Liv dropped the board as she leapt upon Erica. She began to punch her in the face over and over again. Then Liv noticed a brick beside her. She reached over and snatched it off the ground. The instinct to smash Erica's head to mush was strong, tearing through Liv's brain and muscles like a drug. Liv raised the brick over her head. Suddenly she stopped. Seeing Erica allowed her human side to take control again.

The glowing red faded from Liv's eyes as her face returned to normal. She let the brick fall harmlessly from her fingertips to clatter upon the concrete floor. She placed her fingers on Erica's cheeks. "It's alright," she spoke softly. "It's me. I'm not going to hurt you."

Without warning Erica reached up and yanked Liv off of her, flipping her over and reversing positions. Erica, now on top of Liv, punched downward into Liv's nose. She slammed Liv's head into the hard floor. Then she remembered the brick. Erica reached over and lifted the brick from the floor and raised it above her head.

"No!" Liv shouted. "Erica, please don't!" Liv was sobbing now—scared and sad that her friend wanted to kill her. Erica did not strike though. Relief washed over Liv as she noticed the redness fade from Erica's eyes and her face return to its normal lovely self.

Tears began to stream down Erica's cheeks. "I almost killed you," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I almost killed you too," Liv said as she reached her fingers up and placed them delicately around Erica's neck. She pulled Erica's head down to hers and kissed her.

"What will happen to me?" Erica whispered. "You can't send me to jail. I'll kill every inmate."

"I know," Liv said as she squeezed her tight. "We will figure something out. I promise"

Erica kissed Liv lightly on the forehead. "I love you," she whispered before straightening. She wiped her eyes as she looked down at Liv's glowing smiling face. Erica returned the smile. Liv didn't know what they were going to do, but they would think of something. They had to.

Liv took Erica's hand in hers and kissed her fingers lightly. "Let's get up, okay?"

"Yeah," Erica said.

Blood splattered all over Liv's face as a loud BANG rang out reverberating off of the brick walls. Liv screamed in horror as she watched Erica's head explode and her body slump over on top of her.

"No!" Liv shrieked. She turned her head to see Clive kneeling atop the stairs still aiming his pistol as white smoke wafted out of the barrel. She pushed Erica's body off of her and sat up. Her medical training and instincts took over as she turned the body over, wanting desperately to save her. But she realized it was over. Erica was dead.

Liv fell back onto her buttocks and placed her hands over her face as she screamed, her heart breaking again. "Not again!" she mumbled to herself. "Not again!"

"Liv," she heard Clive's voice say as she felt his arm wrap around her. She yanked away from him and his stunned expression made her realize the wrath that must have etched her face. "Are you okay?" Clive asked. Liv hated him for a moment, but it was a fleeting moment. Clive had not wanted to harm Erica. He certainly had not intended to hurt Liv. He was trying to protect Liv from someone he believed, with good reason, was hurting her.

Liv fell forward into Clive's arms burying her face in his chest as he patted her back. "It's alright, you're okay now. I've got you," he whispered into her ear.

A few moments later they heard footsteps and Liv lifted her head to see Joe jogging toward them. He stopped a few feet away. "Are you two alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Clive said. He pointed at Erica's body. "Here's Morris Jordan's murderer, Joe."

Liv wiped her eyes as she looked down at Erica. "I'm not sure it is."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Caitlin glanced up from the microscope an enormous smile spread across her face. "Take a look," she told Ravi. He bent over and peered into the eyepiece lenses.

"That's amazing," he said. "His blood is completely clean."

"Let me see," Barry said. Ravi stepped out of the way. A smile spread across Barry's face. He looked up. "So I'm immune to zombies," he said happily.

"No," Caitlin said. "As you are aware, your body heals at an incredible rate. This worked the same way. Your body destroyed the z pathogen before you turned."

"That is incredible," Ravi said, the excitement pouring out of him. "Inside of Barry may be the key to unlock cures for every disease on the planet."

"Yeah, that's exactly what Dr. Wells thinks," she smiled.

They heard footsteps and turned to see Joe descending the steps. "How's Barry?" he asked, the concern as pure as that of a father.

"Clean bill of health," Barry smiled.

"Are you serious?" Joe asked as he reached him, but the question was directed toward Caitlin.

"He is Joe," Caitlin said. "Once again his meta powers have saved his life."

Joe flung his arms around Barry, squeezing him tight. "Thank God! I was so worried about you, son."

"I know," Barry said, "but I'm fine."

Joe released him and looked at Ravi and Caitlin. "Well, turns out we solved the murders," he informed them.

"Erica?" Barry asked.

"Yeah. Well Liv doesn't think Erica killed Morris Jordan, but it fits. She had motive, a means to kill him the way it happened, and he died the same way as Jonathan White. I'm calling it case closed."

"So I guess you guys will be leaving?" Ravi asked with the disappointment clear in his voice.

"Yes, early," Joe smiled. "I'm ready to get back to Central City where all we have to worry about is super villains. You guys can keep your zombies."

Caitlin looked at Ravi. "I've got your samples. We'll work on the problem at Star Labs," she promised.

"Yes, great. I look forward to hearing from you. Call any time day or night. And it doesn't have to be about this, it can be about anything."

Caitlin nodded with a smile. "And you know, you should really get out to Central City, see Star Labs and meet Dr. Wells."

"That would be amazing!" Ravi exclaimed. "How does next Tuesday sound?"

Caitlin chuckled. "Let me check my calendar and get back to you, but I normally have very little going on Tuesdays."

"Alright," Ravi said. He then crinkled his nose. "As long as it's before October 6. I'm going to be extremely busy beginning then."

"So where are Liv and Clive?" Barry asked. "I'd like to say good-bye and we probably won't have a chance in the morning."

"Well, I had insisted Clive bring me straight back here, because I was so worried about you. But then he was going to take Liv to Ravi's. That's where she wanted to go."

"Oh," Ravi said. "Don't worry she's not going there to see me."

* * *

It was late. Very late. Major rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs wearing nothing but Washington Huskies boxer shorts. He opened the door and was surprised to see Liv standing there.

"Liv?" he said. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really," she said. "I know it's late and I should have called, but…" she paused and stared at him. "Are you alone?" Major nodded with a smile. "Can I please come in?"

"Of course," Major said. He stepped aside to allow her to step inside. "Can I get you anything?" he asked as he closed the door.

"No," Liv said as she took off her coat and laid it over the recliner. She moved across the room and sat on the couch. "Can you just come sit with me?"

"Sure," Major said. He joined Liv on the couch. "What's happened?" he asked, worried for her.

She stared down at the floor. "It's been a really long day," she said. She looked up at him. "Major, I…" Liv was so ready to tell Major everything. Tell him she was a zombie and that's why she broke off their engagement, because she didn't want to make him one too. Once again, however, something stopped her and though she knew it would be worse, the longer she waited, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him.

Major reach forward and wiped a tear from her cheek. "It's okay, Liv," he said sweetly.

Liv fell into his arms. There were no more words to say. Not tonight anyway. Tonight she just wanted Major to hold her like he used to. They rocked back and forth on the couch as Major held Liv in his arms.

 **THANK YOU FOR READING!**

I am extremely flattered that you have now read my _iZombie_ and _The Flash_ fanfic _Runaway Brain_. If you enjoyed the story, I ask that you please send it to your fellow Zoms, Brainies, and Speedsters! I would also love to hear from you. Contact me via email at chrisvalebooks at yahoo dot com or via Twitter at AuthorChrisVale or visit my website at christophervale dot net.

It was a lot of fun writing this fanfic. The CW shows _iZombie_ and _The Flash_ are two extremely fun shows with great characters to work with.

I am also the author of numerous novels from superheroes to knights and dragons which you can find on my website christophervale dot net.


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